Samuel Ortom, governor of Benue, has asked the federal
government to stop harassing judicial officers.
Condemning the raid on the home of Mary Odili, a judge of
the Supreme Court, Ortom described the invasion as “unwarranted and
repressive”.
Last Friday, security operatives besieged the Abuja
residence of Odili.
The security operatives had a search warrant purportedly
signed by a judge and granted to one Lawrence Ajodo, identified as a chief
superintendent of police and member of the investigation team under the asset
tax recovery panel of the ministry of justice.
The document also showed that the panel comprises the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Nigerian Police Force
(NPF), and the ministry of justice.
But the EFCC and Abubakar Malami, attorney-general of the
federation, denied any involvement in the raid.
The warrant, which was revoked afterwards, was also
discovered to have an address different from that of the judge’s residence.
Speaking on the invasion, Ortom, in a statement by Nathaniel
Ikyur, his chief press secretary, said Odili, as “an unblemished” Nigerian
judicial officer should not be brought into politically motivated battles.
He said this is the second time agents of the state will be
invading the “hallowed homes” of top judicial officers for reasons that cannot
be properly understood.
The governor said if justices of the Supreme Court could be
easy targets for spurious allegations and subsequent invasion of their privacy
without following due process, it is a clear indication that Nigeria is indeed
heading in the wrong direction.
“The Governor suggests that instead of politicizing attacks
on top judicial officers to embarrass and intimidate them to submit to the
whims of the Federal Government, it should be ready to obey all court orders in
line with the practice in saner democratic climes,” the statement reads.
“He stresses that
since Nigeria is practising democracy, all the arms of government must be
allowed to function optimally without any infringement of the rights of
others.”
“He calls on the Attorney General and Minister of justice to
immediately order investigations into the invasion of Justice Odili’s residence
and culprits are made to face the full wrath of the law.”
Usman Baba, inspector-general of police, ordered a probe of
the incident.
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com